The Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia is in serious danger, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has warned. For the fifth consecutive day, the plant is operating in emergency mode, after a bombardment in the city of Enerhodar, just three kilometers away, left it without external power supply last Monday. Both the plant and Enerhodar have been occupied by Russian forces since last March. The city has suffered a total blackout, being left without electricity, running water or sewage.
This "total blackout", in the words of Grossi, "seriously compromises the safe operation of the plant".
"Given the increase and continuity of the bombing, there is little chance that the external power supply will be reliably restored, especially since the bombing continuously and repeatedly damages the energy infrastructure," Grossi added in a statement. The bombardments also "endanger the technicians and their families, making it more difficult to attend to the plant."
"All this significantly increases the risk of a nuclear accident," he concludes.
Of the six nuclear reactors at the plant, only one remains in operation and in emergency mode. If there is no outside power supply, this reactor will be shut down and "the entire power plant would then rely entirely on diesel generators to ensure vital nuclear safety and security functions."
"This is an untenable and increasingly precarious situation. Therefore, I urgently call for an immediate cessation of all bombing in the entire area... A nuclear safety and security zone must be agreed upon immediately." At this point, Rafael Grossi alluded to the conclusions of the report that he presented on September 6 to the United Nations Security Council, a security zone around the plant.
"A nuclear power plant cannot be a pawn in war, its fate cannot be decided by military means. The consequences of such an action are too serious", concludes Rafael Grossi.
